


the treasure in the heart of the sea

by shairiru



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, M/M, Mythology - Freeform, Sirens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-15 21:37:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17536709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shairiru/pseuds/shairiru
Summary: Wu Yifan, captain of the famed pirate ship Calypso, has never trusted a single soul. Yet, in the face of betrayal and falsehoods, he learns about warmth and sincerity.





	the treasure in the heart of the sea

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt "Pirate!AU In which Captain Yifan falls in love with siren Junmyeon"...I might have missed the point a bit but I hope this is alright! ^^;

Even in the darkness, the silver light shines over the blue ocean. Yifan stares at the seas that he has voyaged for years. More than half of his lifetime is in the waters yet he feels like he has only scratched at the surface. One lifetime is not enough to explore everything that there is to be found.  
  
    Beyond the uncharted waters lies a universe still unknown to mankind. Yifan aims to be the one who can open this door to the world. Then, his name and their ship will forever be marked in history.  
  
    “Captain.”  
  
    Yifan merely cranes his neck, not removing his eyes from the moon, “You must have a good reason to disturb my time alone.”  
  
    “We’re already near the borders of the mapped waters. We are worried about our destination.”  
  
    “Worried?” Yifan turns, facing Yixing, his Quartermaster. “Is this ship full of fishermen, not pirates?”  
  
    “Our supplies won’t last over three weeks.”  
  
    “We’ll have found land by then. Don’t we have strikers on board to get us food?”  
  
    “We’ve been lucky to have encountered ships that we can raid for supplies before, but no one else journeys the waters beyond the map. The nearest land we know is over twenty days of travel away. We don’t have extra supplies. We don’t even have any idea how the waters behave here. The risks are too high.”  
  
    “Are you doubting me?”  
  
    “Captain, we believe in you. We wouldn’t have agreed to look for the island of the legends if we didn’t trust that you can lead us to it. What I’m just trying to say is we are not ready right now.”  
  
    “So, you’re suggesting to turn back?”  
  
    “Turn back, resupply. Raid supply ships on the way. We can still explore the uncharted waters, just not this time.”  
  
    “Do you even hear what you’re saying? When have you been so spineless? Returning now would cost us even more.”  
  
    “The people have started to voice out their—”  
  
    “I am this ship’s captain.”  
  
    “Wu Yifan!” Yixing bellows. The two stand head to head, eyes sharp against each other. The members of the crew who are within earshot visibly flinches. No one dares to turn around just to witness two of the most powerful members of the ship argue, nevertheless, they keep their mouths shut and ears open. “Yes, you are this ship’s captain. But you do not make this ship. All of us do. We are a crew.”  
  
    A cold smile lines Yifan’s face, his voice as icy. “Do choose the words you say, Zhang Yixing.”  
  
    “I’d say the same for you,” Yixing steps back, “Calypso will remain Calypso, but you won’t always be her captain.”  
  
    The threat underlying his words are as visible as the moon in the sky, but Yifan heeds no care. He isn’t Calypso’s captain because the crew respected him, after all. He is their captain for the sole reason that almost all of them feared him. Those who do not, they oppose him but never had the guts to fight him. There isn’t anyone else in the ship as good as he is.  
  
    For this reason, Yifan never had a peaceful sleep at night. He constantly stays in between the realm of consciousness and near-slumber. It can be said that he has never had a decent rest ever since he lived as a pirate. Yifan trusts his crew with the ship; it is what they’re supposed to do. But Yifan trusts no one with his life except for him alone.  
  
    Yifan returns to his cabin. He makes sure all five locks of the door is tightly shut. There are no windows to his room besides the porthole facing the sea and the small hole on the door. Yixing and he share a long history having grown together as pirates. They could have been sworn brothers if not for the fact that Yixing has had his eyes for the captainship, and he didn’t take his loss against Yifan too well.  
  
    He lays the cloth map of the known sea on his table and pins the top edges with two daggers. Right now, they are about to cross the boundary of the map to the East. No known sailor nor pirate has ever explored this area, or if there were some who were able to cross the boundary, no one returned to tell the tale. Calypso shall be the first ship to succeed, this, Yifan is sure of.  
  
    He is specifically aiming to shore on the island of legends. The stories say that the Fountain of Youth can be found in that island, and just a sip from the water can grant humans long lives. It is said that drinking a bottle can give immortality. Yifan does not care for these stories of immortality. He is certain that those are not true. But stories rarely come from nothing. The island of legends definitely exists, but it must be containing a secret more useful than some magical water. Treasure? An undiscovered civilization? Yifan will be the first to know.  
  
    He sleeps with the map tucked in his shirt and a dagger clutched on his right hand. There are no dreams that visit Yifan’s light slumber.  
  
  
  
By dawn, they break the boundaries beyond the known world. Yifan sews another square meter of cloth to the map ceremoniously with the sunrise as everyone watched in heightened anticipation.  
  
    “With this, my friends, we start creating history!” Yifan holds the map up high, the crew’s cheers filling the air.  
  
    The liveliness within the ship is revived. Yifan looks at everyone in satisfaction. It is easy to understand these men’s hearts. Pirates have the spirit of adventure. If they are dissatisfied, give them something to look forward to. Yixing greatly underestimates how well he understands his own people.  
  
    Yifan bangs a metal cup on the table three times, silencing everyone and getting their attention back to him.  
  
    “It’s good that we’re energized. But as I told you before, this is not an easy journey. Strikers, have a reconnaissance of the water here if we can get the same fish. We need to stock a lot for this journey. Xiumin, you’re going to have to work double time with updating this map. Our greatest enemy now is the water itself. Remember, we are strangers in this part of the world.”  
  
    Everyone gets to work. Yifan stands next to Luhan, their helmsman. His unmatched navigational skills and uncanny intuitions have given them countless successful journeys. Xiumin is on the other side, pen, inks, and compass in tow. At the moment, they are riding the eastern current, making their journey faster than usual. The wind blows strong and steadily, the immediate skies are clear. There is no better time to explore.  
  
    “Captain, you think we’re going to encounter some siren?” Xiumin throws him a playful smile, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively. Yifan shakes his head in disapproval. This man has been away from land for too long.  
  
    Luhan clears his throat. “Sirens aren’t real.”  
  
    “Just because you haven’t seen one doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Hey, Captain,” he turns to Yifan again, “What if the island of legends is a siren island? Wouldn’t that be wicked?”  
  
    “Say we do encounter siren, what use will they have to us? If we were to transport them back to land, then that means we would get extra baggage on the ship and extra mouths to feed. I’d rather cut up their meat for food, what do you think?”  
  
    “That’s very practical of you, Captain,” Luhan replies with a satisfied smile.  
  
    “Luhan! Don’t enable him...how dare you think so ill of such beauty, Captain. The seas will definitely be angry at you.”  
  
    “It can try me,” Yifan taps his finger on the map, “Focus here.”  
  
    “Aye aye, sir!”  
  
    The trio work quietly on the helm while the rest of the crew are busy on their own tasks. Yixing is going around the ship to oversee that all tasks are done smoothly. Despite everything, they are adult enough to know when to put their responsibilities first before their personal issues. They have sworn to put Calypso first before anything else.  
  
    In a few hours, the stronger and colder winds start to blow from the east. Calypso’s flag almost doesn’t go down. Yifan looks beyond the horizon, a frown forming on his forehead.  
  
    “Thunderstorm?” Xiumin asks. They’re surrounded by blue skies and the clouds are still far from sight.  
  
    Yifan shakes his head, “A storm. We might have only a few hours. Luhan.”  
  
    “The sea is quite fast, indeed,” Luhan quips. Without further instructions, he steers the helm pointing them to the north. The winds are coming from east; it will be deadly to face it head on. Trusting their helmsman, Yifan leaves for the other members of the crew, “Storm ahead!”  
  
    The sky is clear from where they are, but no one doubts the knowledge of their captain when it comes to the sea. With just two words, everyone leaves their current posts and moves to prepare for the storm. The sails at the back of the ship are taken down, leaving only the front and jib sails open.  
  
    Calypso’s movement noticeably slows as Luhan steers it out of the current, sideways to the winds. Yixing is going around giving ropes to everyone. Once they near the storm and the waves start being monstrous, they are to tie themselves to the ship so that they may not be thrown off.  
  
    When he gives Yifan his rope, he holds onto it a second longer, “This storm will be stronger than usual. We can still turn this ship around.”  
  
    Yifan takes the rope from his hand, smiling wryly, “When has a pirate ever cowered in front of a storm?”  
  
    He wraps the rope around his wrist. He will not need it anyway. When the big waves start coming, he will be by Luhan’s side helping commandeer the ship across the storm. Yifan climbs to the crow’s nest and pulls out a scope. Looking through the lens, he sees a mass of gray moving quickly with the wind just a bit beyond the horizon.    
  
    “Two hours!”  
  
    Everyone works twice as fast. It is a race against time.  
  
  
  
Waves bigger than the ship start to arrive, the wind howling like banshees. Calypso has been through many storms but these waves are the biggest yet that they have encountered.  
  
    “With these kind of waves, we must be in the open ocean,” Yifan tells Luhan over the rumbling of the skies. Raindrops fall like cold bullets.  
  
    “Maybe you really did get the sea angry,” Luhan comments with a laugh, his eyes never leaving the view in front of him. Waves come in succession. He must not lose even a second of attention, else the sea will swallow them whole. He makes Calypso ride the waves, rising and falling over tens of meters.  
  
    To no one’s understanding, the strong storm even got stronger. Yifan can see that Luhan is starting to lose control.  
  
    “We can’t fight this storm any longer!” Luhan shouts from his position, already bringing out the rope and tying himself to a post. It’s the last resort.  
  
    Yifan follows suit afterwards, tying himself around the mast. The ship keeps on swaying largely from side to side, throwing off all the loose baggage on deck. The winds pick up speed, fortunately. A storm like this should pass by in an hour, they’ve experience a longer storm, albeit a weaker one.  
  
    Just then, he notices something strange.  
  
    The rope that he had tied himself with around the mast started to feel loose. The ship hits a big wave, turning a steep angle to the left. Yifan finds his feet off the ground, his whole weight being supported by the rope.  
  
    This won’t hold —  
  
    His thoughts haven’t been finished yet when the ship violently swayed, making the rope give a solid snap. He falls freely to the side, helplessly scrambling for anything to hold onto —  
  
    A hand finds his, firmly holding on.  
  
    “Yifan!”  
  
    For a moment, he thinks he’s saved.  
  
    Then he looks up. It’s Yixing, seeming to be struggling to hold him up. Yet his face that only Yifan can see shows his true motives. And just like that, Yifan realizes Calypso is no longer his.  
  
    “You—”  
  
    In a grand act of ‘saving the captain’, Yixing ‘accidentally’ lets go.  
  
  
  
Yifan has crossed paths with and escaped from death so many times that Death itself is probably tired of seeing his face. If dying is like boarding a ship on a port, the name Wu Yifan would have been banned already for never actually getting on the ship.  
  
    Every part of his body ached, his throat feels really dry. He tries to move his arm and immediately regrets it — a wound must have opened up — he lets out a pained groan.  
  
    “You’re awake!”  
  
    Yifan tries to speak, but it comes out as a croak: “Who-”  
  
    “I felt you in the waters not far from here, luckily I found you in time.”  
  
    The voice is soft, a tender sound that seems to coexist with the waves in a perfect harmony. Despite the burning sensation in his chest, he feels safe.  
  
    “I’ve brought water that you can drink.”  
  
    Despite the soreness, Yifan tries his best to sit up. When he turns to face the direction of the source of the voice, he is in for a surprise.  
  
    He has had his share of peculiar experiences in his life, and thought the concept of sirens is a mere myth for him, seeing an actual living species before him just managed to make him say: “Oh.”  
  
    “Others had more reaction than you.”  
  
    “Am I supposed to be afraid? Are you going to eat me?”  
  
    The siren smiles at that. “Here, take this bottle. It’s spring water,” he raises a green bottle on his hand in the air, missing Yifan completely. It’s only then that Yifan realizes the siren has never looked straight at him.  
  
    He takes the bottle cautiously. _Can you not see?_ , he wants to ask, yet he feels that he’ll be crossing an unwanted boundary for doing so. He keeps the question in a corner of his mind for later. Right now, he must focus on recovering so that he can think of a way on how to return to civilization.  
  
    He drinks from the bottle and is met with another surprise: the water is surprisingly crisp and refreshing, something he has never tasted before. In a blink of an eye, he has finished the whole bottle and tries shaking it to get one last drop.  
  
    A satisfied sigh escapes from his lips.  
  
    “It’s good, isn’t it?”  
  
    “Thank you,” Yifan looks around him for the first time. In front is the boundless ocean, no other mass of land in sight. Behind him are tall limestone towers, greyed out and weathered by time. The greeneries barely exist, and on the ground are white sand and jagged rocks. “Where did you get this?”  
  
    “There’s a spring under the waters,” the siren says, “One has to dive to the bottom. If you want some more, I’ll get them for you.”  
  
     _An underwater spring?_ Yifan suddenly thinks, _is this the island of legends?_  
  
    Then, the memory of Yixing’s betrayal surfaces up in his mind. His last few seconds in Calypso returns like a riptide, the burning sensation in his chest that has just disappeared suddenly rekindles, now a raging fire.  
  
    He takes a deep breath. He’s now virtually alone. Leaving this island is the goal, but first, he must recover. Who knows how long will it take to find another human being once he sets off. The only companion he has now is a blind siren. He wonders if this creature will be of help.  
  
    “You must have a name,” he says, “I’m Yifan.”  
  
    “Junmyeon,” the siren raises his hand as if to shake Yifan’s, but as expected, he completely misses Yifan yet again. Yifan adjusts for him, taking his outstretched hand in his. A warm smile grows on the siren’s face, “It’s nice to meet you finally. You’ve been out for quite some time.”  
  
  
  
Unfortunately, the island’s spring water isn’t a magical water that Yifan hoped it would be. His wounds remain as wounds, his strength is still lost somewhere in the unrelenting sea. Junmyeon, on his part, has been very assisting.  
  
    Yifan moved from the wide rock Junmyeon has laid him on to a small overhang that can hide him from the sun and rain. He spends most of his time under it, lying on a mass of fallen leaves, and recovering his strength and letting his wounds heal. When he’s awake, he’d walk to the edge of the beach so the waves would reach him, letting Junmyeon know that he’s around. By then, Junmyeon will arrive with bottles of water and sea creatures he could feed on such as crabs, mussels, and fish.  
  
    “Are you sure you want me to eat this?” Yifan asks him the first time, “Other inhabitants of the sea are supposedly your friends, right?”  
  
    Junmyeon suppresses a laugh. “Don’t humans eat animals on land?”  
  
    “Point taken.”  
  
    From that time on, Yifan would gladly accept Junmyeon’s deliveries and even offer him some after he has cooked them over a basic fire he is able to start.  
  
    Despite the warm treatment he receives from Junmyeon, Yifan still doesn’t let himself trust him too quickly. If a human who he has spent half his life with can betray him, then so can this creature whom he has just met. As much as possible, he stays on land, telling Junmyeon he had been resting the whole time. But in fact, when Junmyeon is not around, Yifan explores accessible areas in the island without letting any of him touch the sea.  
  
    There is nothing much to see, he soons find out. Behind the tall limestone towers are wild grasses and trees. Some are bearing fruit which is a good thing. But there isn’t really anything else that suggests someone has been here for the past year or so.  
  
    However, after some time, he stumbles into something: a stone statue.  
  
    He almost missed it, hidden under a thick layer of vines. The humanoid shape is very uncanny though, and it is able to catch his eye immediately. It is an intricate creation, very detailed, showing a man reaching out in front of him, his face in frozen shock, and the eyes are but blanks spheres. Yifan feels a chill run down his back at the sight of it. There is nothing more he wanted to do but walk away and forget about it.  
  
    This discovery has told him something important, however. He’s not the first human to have set foot in this island.  
  
  
  
“Has there been any other human here before?” Yifans asks Junmyeon, the memory of the statue resurfacing in his mind.  
  
    Junmyeon is silent for a while, then he says, “This island had settlers before, a whole bunch of them. But the deities have cursed them and they died out in one single event, no one is able to leave. Afterwards, no one’s been able to find this place anymore if they looked for it.”  
  
    “Cursed?”  
  
    “A punishment for offending the gods.”  
  
    “And you’re here because?”  
  
    For the first time, Yifan sees Junmyeon’s soft expression falter, replaced by a shadow of darkness. “Do you know the name of this island?”  
  
    “No.”  
  
    “This is Fylaki.”  
  
    Though without proper education, Yifan has traveled many places in this world and he is familiar with words that matter to being a pirate. Fylaki is one of those words he’s familiar with. “Prison,” he says, earning him a surprised look for Junmyeon.  
  
    “Indeed.”  
  
    “What’s your crime?”  
  
    “Helping humans,” Junmyeon turns then, and Yifan gets the message. It’s not a topic he’s fond of talking about.  
  
    Yifan isn’t so kind, though.  
  
    “Is that why you can’t see as well?”  
  
    The silence gives Yifan the answer he needs.  
  
    “Was helping those humans really worth this grave of a punishment?”  
  
    “It was a war. I should be siding with my king, but there were innocent people drowning. I knew I had to help, I saved as many as I could. The king wasn’t all too happy, as you can imagine, and I was made an example — this is what happens when you mingle with humans,  he declared before taking away my sight and leaving me here. The moon keeps guard of me all these years.”  
  
    His voice trails in a whisper towards the end, years of bitterness and grievances lacing his words. This siren’s nature is to be unconditionally kind, yet his own species turned their back on him, leaving him to fend for himself, blind.  
  
    Yifan empathizes with him, to his utmost surprise. Just as Junmyeon was kicked away by his own kind, he himself was removed from Calypso by the very people he worked with.  
  
    “I was kicked away, too, you know,” he says, “Thrown off, to be exact. I am the captain of my ship, and my second-in-command took advantage of the storm we met, making it look like I accidentally fell off.”  
  
    Junmyeon lets out a sad exhale, “Seems you and I are kindred souls.”  
  
    Somehow, there’s comfort knowing that.  
  
    “Indeed.”  
  
  
  
Slowly, Yifan’s wounds healed, he has started to regain his strength. Simultaneously, thoughts of leaving the island has gradually lessened in his mind.  
  
    As all living things constrained in the same environment with the same resources would want to be efficient, Yifan and Junmyeon fall into a pattern of helping each other survive. Junmyeon informs him that on the other side of the island, he will find a pathway that will lead him to the center where several trees grow. The island has been untouched for many years, it is highly probable that he’ll find an abundance of food in there. Yifan pretends to not know about it already and thanks Junmyeon for the information.  
  
    Meanwhile, Junmyeon continued to get him water, seemingly having an unlimited number of glass bottles with him. When Yifan asks, he answers with, “They all end up here containing something inside, I removed them. I only need the bottles.”  
  
    “Do you still have those, the ones inside the bottles?”  
  
    “Are those important?” Junmyeon looks concerned.  
  
    “They’re messages. People on land, when they long for someone a lot like a special person or a deceased loved one, they send them messages through bottles, hoping that it’ll someday reach the people they cared about. I just thought it’d be interesting to read.”  
  
    “When the next bottle comes, I’ll give it to you.”  
  
    Yifan wanted to tell him that he doesn’t have to, but the sweet yet determined smile on his face makes him swallow his words.  
  
    For all the things Junmyeon has helped him with, he never once asked Yifan for anything. Junmyeon doesn’t need food, nor does he need the water he gets himself. However, there is no such thing as free lunch. At one point, he asks Junmyeon: “What do you need from me?”  
  
    “What do you mean?”  
  
    “You saved my life. You gave me water. You gave me food. Yet, not once you’ve asked to get something from me. I want to believe in your sincerity, but it’s a word I don't believe to exist. Everyone does things for others for a price.”  
  
    Junmyeon is silent for a while, the afternoon waves lapping lazily against the shore and his iridescent tail.  
  
    “Just be here,” he says then, so softly that it’s almost a whisper, “It’s more than enough. I’ve been alone for quite some time, I just need another existence on this cursed island.”  
  
    The words, though it’s not Junmyeon’s intention, seem like a slap to Yifan’s face. Being a pirate has jaded him since at a tender young age, it is a ‘dog eats dog’ world. The concept of someone doing things out of the goodness of their heart has never existed in his mind. And yet, in a form of a blind siren, it exists.  
  
    “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”  
  
    “No. You are, and it’s alright. I’m not forcing you to remain here, but as long as you are, then I will help you and indulge in your company.”  
  
    Feeling guilty, Yifan treads closer to the water until it is up until his waist. Junmyeon senses him immediately and faces him. Though he can’t see, Yifan still smiles.  
  
    “Well? How do you want to spend the time?”  
  
    A smile grows on Junmyeon’s face as well.  
  
    And indulge, he does.  
  
  
  
“Is it true, about your voice?”  
  
    Yifan is sitting on a boulder, but his legs are dipped in the water. Junmyeon floats not too far from him. They are waiting for the sun to set, just like they’ve always done the past days. What Yifan sees through his eyes, he describes to Junmyeon with words, trying to paint an image in his mind.  
  
    “What’s with our voice?”  
  
    “That it can hypnotize humans?”  
  
    Junmyeon swims closer, taking a hold of his ankle, looking up at him.  
  
    “Do you feel particularly hypnotized right now?”  
  
    Yifan ponders for a moment, the scaly grip around his ankles a familiar sensation. His thoughts are still his, as far as he is concerned. Then, he looks at Junmyeon and sees a trace of humor in his smile.  
  
    “Ah, you’re only joking.”  
  
    Junmyeon laughs then, splashing him lightly. “I think it’s your voice that’s hypnotizing though. I really like listening to it.”  
  
    Yifan is taken aback by the sudden compliment. Most of his life, he has only spoken to pirates. No one among them would dare tell him ‘they liked listening to his voice’ as he only either spouted orders or curses. For some reason, he doesn’t know what to do with Junmyeon’s words.  
  
    “Thanks…I guess?”  
  
    “But if humans think they are hypnotized by our voice, maybe because it’s beyond great.”  
  
    “Oh, is it though?” Yifan challenges.  
  
    To his surprise, Junmyeon _sings_. Perhaps it’s because he hasn’t been in contact with any other voice for the longest time, or maybe because no one in the ship sang like this, or perhaps in all his life Yifan didn’t actually know what music really was until he has heard Junmyeon sing. He thinks, that for someone who came from the sea, Junmyeon sings as if he’s an angel.  
  
  
  
When Yifan has completely healed, he started spending more time swimming in the sea with Junmyeon. It’s only when he’s in contact with the sea that Junmyeon can actually have a more complete sense of him.  
  
    “You’re really long,” Junmyeon comments the first time they swam together.  
  
    “What?” Yifan is taken aback by his words, suddenly feeling extra aware of himself.  
  
    In response, Junmyeon spreads his arms vertically: “Long, from head to toe.”  
  
   _Ah._  
  
    “You mean tall…”  
  
    “Right. That’s the word for creatures that stand on their feet. I forgot.”  
  
    They will swim for hours if they can, Junmyeon leads him around the circumference of the island. They dive deep into the clear waters and Yifan enjoys the colorful world underneath. Many years he has spent in the sea yet he hasn’t had a view like this.  
  
    It is a carefree life in the island. Yifan doesn’t have to carry a blade with him to sleep anymore. He can fall asleep right underneath the night sky, exposed to the sea breeze and the stars, and still wake up to another sunrise. For the longest time, he starts to dream. The last dream Yifan has had was about drowning. But right now, he dreams of floating, the bright sun overhead, the gentle waves of the sea breaking onto the shore, and a warm-souled siren accompanying him.  
  
    When Yifan wakes up, he gets a realization.  
  
    For the first time in a while, he wants to stay.  
  
  
  
“Have you ever thought of leaving?”  
  
    It is a quiet night. There is no moon, only stars. Yifan is sitting by the beach, Junmyeon opposite him, leaning against a boulder while his tail is submerged in the water. The question comes from Junmyeon’s lips without any warning.  
  
    “I’d be lying if I said I haven’t,” Yifan answers, “Especially during the beginning.”  
  
    Though he has no family he can call that he can go back to, Yifan’s heart is still with the Calypso. He has grown in that ship, toiled and bled on its deck. He may have not gotten close with the rest of the crew, but Luhan and Xiumin almost felt like friends to him. As ragged and fierce Calypso looks, it has always been his ‘home’.  
  
    He notices how the shadows shifts on Junmyeon’s face.  
  
    “But I have been thinking of staying for a while now,” he smiles, hoping the other will too. Yet, Junmyeon’s face remained ridden with melancholy.  
  
    “Why, do you want me to lea—“  
  
    “No!” Junmyeon suddenly jerks forward, reaching out towards his direction. On his face is an expression of pure, unmasked fear. Yifan moves, holding Junmyeon’s outstretched arm. “Please…not yet.”  
  
    “Junmyeon, I’m not going anywhere soon,” he says, his voice assuring him that he will stay. It’s only then that his face relaxes again. Junmyeon keeps on holding on to him like he himself will drown if he lets go.  
  
    “Do you mean what you said?”  
  
    “I never say things I don’t mean.”  
  
    Yet, Junmyeon still doesn’t smile. Something seems wrong. The silence is filled with the crashing waves, a foreboding feeling shakes Yifan’s heart.  
  
    Finally, Junmyeon speaks: “Follow me.”  
  
    He removes himself from Yifan and dives into the water, swimming towards the other side of the island. Yifan follows him without another word, the faint glimmer of his tail being his guide. Junmyeon leads him to a rocky area of the island where the low tide exposes an entrance Yifan has never noticed before. Junmyeon slips underneath. Without hesitation, he follows.  
  
    When he raises his head again, he opens his eyes to a cave about ten meters high, dimly lit by the numerous fluorescent planktons in the waters, creating an illusion of a galaxy. However, the faint light is enough to illuminate what he assumes Junmyeon wanted to show him: dozens and dozens of human statues, all frozen into different poses, yet the same expression is preserved on their faces — horror.  
  
    If it is the sight of the statues or the place itself, Yifan doesn’t know, but he seems to be awakened from a long-running stupor.  
  
    “This island has cursed not only the humans that lived here before,” Junmyeon says. He’s on the other end of the enclosure, his voice echoing gloomily all around, “But the humans who arrived in here thereafter, as well.”  
  
    “You lied,” Yifan remembers the statue he has seen inside the island. “There have been others, and you’re collecting them. For their eyes.”  
  
    Somehow, Yifan wishes Junmyeon will shake his head and deny it, telling a different story. But, he only nods.  
  
    “The curse of the island doesn’t just lie in it, it also lies within me. Any human setting foot on the island is bound to be drawn to me no matter how unfeeling they might be. They will want to stay, no matter what. And when they decide to stay, I can steal their sight. I get to keep it while they remain here, and when they die, that sight is gone. This place is safe from that curse, I’m giving you this chance.”  
  
    “What chance?” Yifan wants to laugh, “Why would I place my trust in you again?”  
  
    “I can sense a ship not far from here,” Junmyeon continues on, “About twenty days of travel time. If you want to get out of here alive, you will have to trust me again.”  
  
     _A ship?_  
  
    Yifan’s interest is suddenly piqued, but he keeps his walls up.  
  
    “There is no moon tonight.”  
  
    “So you remember,” Junmyeon smiles sadly, “The moon is gone for tonight, and it will be that way for three days. That’s why I chose to tell you at this moment. This place will clear your mind from the island’s curse. I’ve already gathered floating driftwood right here. There are other things here that you may use — ropes, nails, sails — I don’t know what you would need so I just got everything. You can build a small boat that can bring you out of this island.”  
  
    He can’t quite believe what he’s hearing.  
  
    “You didn’t want me to leave,” Yifan still can’t believe that Junmyeon will do this all for nothing.  
  
    “But you have to,” Junmyeon dips his hands underneath the water, seemingly stirring it. After a while, more luminous plankton enters the enclosure, giving the place more light enough for Yifan to actually build a small boat, “You can only go in here and work during low tide. The entrance faces the open ocean, and big waves crash into it during high tide. Make sure to be out before three days are up.”  
  
    Without waiting for a reply, Junmyeon dives into the water and swims out of the enclosure, leaving Yifan with more questions than answers.  
  
  
  
Despite his initial misgivings, Yifan chooses to do what he can: building a small boat.  
  
    There really is a stack of driftwood behind one of the statues, piled above the level which the water could reach, keeping it relatively dry. Beside it, there are different ropes, rusted nails, and tattered sails. All of these must have come from shipwrecks. How Junmyeon managed to collect these in a matter of time, Yifan may not be able to understand. Has he been collecting it since the beginning? Or only when Yifan arrived? Why is Yifan being treated differently than all these stone statues during their lifetime?  
  
    The thoughts keep going through his mind, but his body knows how to work. Building a small boat is no big challenge, it is his mind that has been in overdrive, contemplating everything that has happened and that he has thought of during his stay in the island.  
  
    Junmyeon tells him that the curse is not working in this enclosure, yet, in his heart, Yifan can feel that what he felt about Junmyeon didn’t change much. Sure, the siren did not tell him about the true nature of the curse. He has been lied to, that he’s not an amateur with. But for Junmyeon to prepare his help beforehand, to specifically wait for the new moon to tell him about this plan…Yifan wonders how much deeper does Junmyeon’s sincerity ran through his heart.  
  
    When Junmyeon reached out to him earlier, almost begging him to not leave…that felt real, too. How about him? When he told Junmyeon he’s not going anywhere soon…did he mean it, too? Was it really just the curse? Then why does something inside him tells him otherwise?  
  
    In what feels like no time at all, Yifan has completed the small boat and his mind has been riddled with even more questions. He stays in the enclosure for one more day, lying on his makeshift boat, making peace with the brewing storm that is his emotions.  
  
    At midday, he hears a sudden _tink_. When he looks at the water, he sees a half-filled glass bottle floating.  
  
    A fond smile grows on his lips.  
  
    Can a cruel pirate such as himself really deserve the warmth and kindness Junmyeon has been giving him? If he leaves the island, will he ever experience this feeling again? Will he ever feel for someone else like this?  
  
    He might not now all the answers to his questions, but there is one thing he is sure of: even within this enclosure safe from the curse, Yifan still very much wants to stay.  
  
  
  
  
When the night finally falls and the receding tide exposes the entrance once again, Yifan goes out of the enclosure and swims back to the shore. From afar, he sees Junmyeon waiting expectantly at a side.  
  
    “I’ve finished the boat,” Yifan says when he reaches him, “I left it inside so the moon wouldn’t see when it finally shows up again.”  
  
    Junmyeon nods, “Smart choice, I was going to tell you that.”  
  
    “What’s the plan after?” he asks, earning a surprised expression from the siren. “Yes, I still trust you. I believe in your sincerity, and you’re the only help I have. The curse is beyond your control, I will not blame you for it. As for the dead people…I probably have killed more.”  
  
    “Thank you,” Junmyeon shows him a small smile, “Well, you can travel as soon as you want before the moon shows up again, which will be tomorrow. If you miss this opportunity, you cannot leave for another month.”  
  
    Yifan makes a quick computation in his mind. “I’ll take my chances. You said the ship is about twenty days away?”  
  
    “It was. Should be eighteen now.”  
  
    “Then after a month, it’ll only be twelve days away.”  
  
    Junmyeon’s brows crunch up in confusion. “What are you saying?”  
  
    “I’m saying that I want to stay a bit more here with you…if you will let me.” Yifan reaches for Junmyeon’s hands, holding them tightly between his own. “You left me in there to think clearly, I can assure you it’s not the curse speaking right now. It is my own voice, my own heart. I was only a rabid pirate before, unworthy of anything good in this world. Yet, you’ve given that to me —“  
  
    “I lied to you.”  
  
    Yifan shakes his head, “Even though built up on lies, you still treated me with sincerity in the end. You are willing to let me go, even if I am your chance to see again after a long time, isn’t it?”  
  
    Junmyeon is unable to answer. Yifan then brings his hand to his chest, making him feel his heartbeat. “I don’t have my ship, nor my treasures. I only have this heart which you’ve thawed. Will you allow me to stay here and show you my sincerity?”  
  
  
  
They have said that time passes by when one is enjoying things. Many instances during their journeys, Yifan wished for time to speed by so that it’ll finally come to an end. For the first time, he wishes time would stop even just for a while, just so he can revel in the moments he has shared with Junmyeon. Thirty days seems to flash by like lightning — the next thing he knows, they’re pulling out the small boat from the enclosure, getting ready for his departure.  
  
    During the first few days, Yifan has asked Junmyeon how he is able to get people’s sight from them. Although a sensitive question, Junmyeon answers anyway: part of the curse allows him to steal someone’s sight by his touch alone.  
  
    Yifan has daringly suggested: “Get one of mine.”  
  
    “I won’t,” Junmyeon disagreed strongly, “I won’t do that to you.”  
  
    “Listen, Junmyeon, it’s just one eye. I could still see with the other. It’ll be enough, and you’ll get to keep a part of me,” then he jokingly adds, “You know, most depiction of great pirate captains only have one eye and a patch on the other.”  
  
    It was a joke Junmyeon did not fondly appreciate.  
  
    There was a long discussion, but in the end, Yifan manages to convince Junmyeon to do it. It was a painless procedure. A tickling feeling filled his left eye, and after a while, he can’t see with it anymore. On the other hand, Junmyeon stared at him, truly seeing him for the first time, saying: “By gods, you are beautiful."  
  
    They looked at each other now — one with a left eye, one with a right eye — hands intertwined. Junmyeon told him the ship is now just six days away to the east.  
  
    Junmyeon looks at him, all over his face, as if memorizing every line and every shadow.  
  
    “I’ll come back, I promise,” Yifan says, tightening his hold of Junmyeon’s hands, “No matter where I go, I will return to you.”  
  
    “I know,” Junmyeon raises their hands and plants a soft kiss on Yifan’s knuckles, “As long as this eye can see, I know you’ll be back here.”  
  
    No more words are exchanged, it’ll be harder to separate if they do. They’ve already said and done everything that needs to be said and done the night before. For now, it should be enough. Yifan boards the small boat and prepares the makeshift sail. Even the weather seems to be in line with this plan of theirs, the wind blowing steadily to east.  
  
    With one last look, Yifan turns his back on the island of legends, but not on the promise he has made, for a true pirate knows what real treasure is, and his treasure is a siren that will be waiting for him.


End file.
